This gets me to the floor tiller stage at 1st low brace stringing and my wife's trained eyes. I'll work a bit more with the rasp at stiff spots here and there and once again get her opinion on the
bend of the potential bow. She is a trained artist and has a natural eye for line and symmetry. Her favorite quote is "Form follows function." I've learned to trust her judgement and am glad
to have her in my corner.
Once the bow is in the (close but not quite there region) I put away the rasp for good and will use pieces of glass to shave the belly and sides smooth as I continually check the tiller. I
also will begin to increase the brace height to 6.5 inches. It is slow going with the glass but it is the safest method in my mind for keeping the finished draw weight where I want it (in the 65# range at 28").
I should add that prior to any real bracing or bending I completely finish the back of the bow. All tool marks are scraped clean and the wood is sanded smooth.
You can begin to see the pattern of the wood grain emerge and I know that when I heat temper the final product that the grain will really pop out in all it's glory.
I am now at the final tiller stages and will update pics to show the braced profile and final tweaking to get the drawn shape I'm after. This will be a non bending handle bow.
Thank you for looking. I've found that it helps keep me motivated and excited to share the process with others. I didn't think it really mattered all that much but in fact
for me it is a huge benefit having others interested in the same art form out there watching and helping me along.
